Tugboat has been on tour again - this time to test the fabulous Aladdin Tea Infuser "In the field" on our very own Tugboat Tour de France in the Loire Valley.
That's our excuse, anyway!
Day Une - Mercredi - Prologue
Docking - early morning - Roscoff.
It had to be Ricard :)
Day Deux - Jeudi - Mountain Stage
So, after stocking up with enough cheese to feed half of Chinon, we grabbed our Aladdin Tea Infuser (full of our brewed and chilled Summer Fruits Infusion) and headed out to work - on bikes!
Mr Sporty....Thinks He's Forty (In my dreams :) )
We worked out that I hadn't sat on a bike for 39 years - it showed......
But by taking bikes it meant we could ........
.... taste as many wines as we liked :)
Cave Monplaisir is an amazing underground wine merchant carved out of the limestone rock face near Chinon.
It was a tough job testing the wines to make sure we bought the right ones, but we struggled on.
Then, to work!
So it was back to the beautiful walled garden at the Logis Saint Mexme to test the Aladdin and the produce we had picked up from the market in the morning.
Decisions, decisions.......
Fortunately everything passed our stringent quality control with flying colours. :)
Then an evening of "People Watching" in the Place du General de Gaulle.
Day Trois - Vendredi - Flat Stage
Another day of strife and hardship dawned.
First, drive back to Cave Monplaisir to pick up the cases of wine we had bought the day before that we couldn't fit into our bike panniers.
Then a pootle into the vineyards themselves to see how this year's grapes are coming along.
And now its walls have been breached by the indomitable Tugboat Crew.
Huzzah!!
Day Quatre - Samedi - Sprint Stage
Early start for our drive back to Roscoff, but the day couldn't have begun any better than with a delicious breakfast in the lovely garden of Logis Saint Mexme.
Then a very relaxed wander back to Brittany, leaving the delights of the Loire Valley behind, for a night in Roscoff before our return on Sunday.
Via the obligatory supermarche to stock up on essential French produce; including.......
.....Cassoulet au Canard.
No civilized home should be without it :)
Chinon is a place not to be missed and we shall be back!
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Peter
July 01, 2017
It looks – and I’m sure was- wonderfully relaxing and seriously hard work (?!) Love the snaps and the witty commentary (how’s the book coming on???) – but I will just say one word (actually three) : salon de coiffure ? Lovely to have you back, and it’s worth it if we know what you’re up to when you’re away !